Examining Scientific Inquiry Behaviors and Learner Performance in a Serious Game

• In Event: Enhancing Inquiry and Problem-Solving Through Game-Based Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify students’ scientific inquiry behaviors, which emerged as students engaged with a cognitive tool in a serious game called Alien Rescue and examine the relationship between students’ learning performance and their scientific inquiry behaviors. To accomplish the purpose, this study developed game metrics for measuring students’ scientific inquiry skills in an in-game cognitive tool. The results of hierarchical multiple regression and cluster analyses showed the game metrics improved the predictions of students’ learning performance and confirmed four distinctive inquiry behavior groups. This study highlights the needs of data-driven evidences to facilitate scientific inquiry in a serious game with a complex problem for students with diverse learning behaviors.

Authors

• Jina Kang, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

• Min Liu, The University of Texas - Austin

• Moonkyoung Byun, Sungkyunkwan University